Hidden Depths
by Nubushi
Summary: Lyra asks Lance if she can battle as the defending trainer against his multi-type team. She has no idea what she is getting into. LyraxLance. One-shot fluff.


A/N: Lyra is an adult in this story.

* * *

Lance pulled his vibrating pokegear out of his pocket and looked at the screen to see who it was.

Lyra.

He was really glad they had finally exchanged numbers; now that she could just contact him directly, they had been having rematches a lot more often.

"Lance here."

"Hi Lance, this is Lyra."

"What's up?"

"Well, I was thinking . . . you know how trainers accepting challengers usually don't switch out their pokemon to get type advantage, or if they do, it's just a little bit, and mostly they just send out their pokemon in whatever order they're in?"

"Uh-huh."

"I heard you have a mixed-type team, right?"

"I do."

"Well, I was thinking maybe it would be really interesting to try battling with me as the defending trainer, not changing out my pokemon. Like, I thought it would probably be a lot more challenging, and the different experience might help me think of new strategies."

"Hm, that does sound interesting." His eyes scrunched up in amusement. From the way she talked, it didn't sound like Lyra realized just exactly _how_ much more challenging it was to fight like that.

"So, can we do that sometime?"

"Sure, when would you like?"

"How about next Saturday, to give us both some time to prepare?"

"Sounds good."

"All right, see you then!"

He grinned as Lyra hung up. He would be looking forward to it.

* * *

She was down to her last pokemon, and she could see where this was headed.

"Come on, Meganium, let's give it our best!" The massive, dinosaur-like pokemon roared in response, a bugling cry that declared that, despite the soft curves of its flower-graced body and its gentle, herbivorous nature, when it came to battle, it was not to be taken lightly as an opponent.

Even though the battle was nearing its conclusion, even if Lance brought out a fire type next, Lyra still wouldn't just give up.

It was the least she could do as a trainer.

"Arcanine, go!" Lance shouted, and the fiery canine materialized in a blaze of light and flame.

Lyra shouted a command, and Meganium bulldozed forward to slam its body into Arcanine. The fire type slid back from the force of the impact.

"Pull yourself together, Arcanine! You can do it!" Lance encouraged, and the dog-like Pokemon shook itself all over and planted its feet firmly, facing down Meganium. "That's the way! Now take it out with a fire blast!"

Lyra shielded her face with her arm from the flare of heat that blasted from Arcanine's mouth, and when lowered it, Meganium was collapsed on the floor, its strength spent.

She ran and knelt down by its head, murmuring some encouraging words to it before returning it to its pokeball.

Standing up, she gave a last rueful smile for her defeat and then looked up at Lance, who had also returned Arcanine to its pokeball, eyes shining with excitement.

* * *

"Lance, that was amazing!" Lance hadn't really known what he was going to say to Lyra in this moment, but fortunately she had solved the problem for him. "That was so much more difficult than fighting as the challenging trainer—but it was so much fun!"

Lyra was really amazing, Lance thought. He had been worried that Lyra, who as far as he knew had never lost a battle to _anyone_, would take the loss hard. But there was not a single trace of self-pity or wounded pride in her; it was clear that the only thoughts in her mind were the joy of the thrilling battle that had just ended and her love for her pokemon.

"And you're really strong!" Lyra continued. "Not that I didn't know that before, but . . ." She blushed as she trailed off. He wasn't sure if it was because she felt like she was babbling or she was self-conscious about the words she had just said, but there was something there more than mere admiration for him as a trainer. He couldn't place his finger on how he could tell, but there was something about her eyes as she looked at him, a softness and openness underneath the shining enthusiasm. The eloquence of her expression as she gazed up through her eyelashes told him everything he needed to know.

"So, do I get a prize?" he asked, a teasing note in his voice.

"What would you like?" she asked, clasping her hands behind her back. The blush still lingered on her cheeks, he noticed.

He stepped closer, holding her eyes with his as she gazed at him, trusting, with her doe-like eyes. She had probably never looked into his eyes this long before. Hers were a beautiful, warm, brown. Wide, like pools with hidden depths.

He leaned towards her and reached out a hand to gently cup the side of her face, his thumb brushing against her cheek.

"Is this all right?" he asked.

Lyra closed her eyes and lifted her face to meet his, raising herself on her toes to meet him halfway.

* * *

A/N: Did you know that your pupils dilate when you look at someone you like and your eyes narrow when you look at someone you dislike? Even if you don't notice it consciously, it's something that people tend to subconsciously pick up on, and that is what Lance is seeing.

Obviously, this is a story based on the idea of what would happen if, unlike in the games, Lance were to freely switch out his pokemon to try to get the advantage, just as the player is able to do.

This was a little piece I just had sitting around on my computer, pretty much all ready to go. I'm working on some longer one-shots also, but I thought in the meantime, there wasn't any reason not to go ahead and publish this one. Kind of short, but I hope you enjoyed it anyways! If you liked what you read, please drop a line and say hello, and C/C is also welcome!


End file.
